


KNR

by AtPK



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Convin, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 06:31:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18204773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtPK/pseuds/AtPK
Summary: After becoming deviant, Connor begins to have memories of things that had happened before he was Connor, memories of a little boy called Gavin.





	KNR

The memory clips had begun shortly after he’d become deviant. They were old, fragmented, unclear, as if he’d experienced them through different eyes. But that made no sense, because there’d only ever been these eyes, in this body.

A lot of things didn’t make a whole lot of sense to Connor now. He was finding it difficult to understand his emotional reaction to certain people and situations, and he often had no idea what he was feeling at all.

Before, he’d been living in a grey darkness, but now everything was bright and colourful. Hank had chuckled at him the other day for spending so much time in the garden, in the sunshine, smelling the flowers and watching the bees but they’d made him happy, and happy was an easy emotion to identify.

Connor liked happy.

The memory clips that would pop up at random intervals through the day and night, did not make him feel happy.

Hank had gone to bed half an hour ago and Sumo was laying at his feet. He thought about entering stasis but instead pulled up one of the memory clips.

 _A_ _child,_ _Connor_ _wasn’t_ _good_ _with_ _young_ _human_ _ages,_ _but_ _he_ _thought_ _perhaps_ _of_ _around_ _ten_ _or_ _eleven_ _years_ _of_ _age._ _He_ _was_ _bruised,_ _a_ _plaster_ _over_ _the_ _bridge_ _of_ _his_ _nose,_ _and_ _scrapes_ _on_ _his_ _knees._ _He_ _threw_ _himself_ _down_ _on_ _the_ _bed_ _and_ _looked_ _at_ _Connor_.

“ _Hey_ _K_ , _what’ve_ _you_ _been_ _up_ _to_ _today_?”

“ _Hello_ _Gavin._ _I_ _have_ _been_   _reading_   _about_ _the_ _Principles_ _of_ _Pyrolysis._ _It_ _is_ _really_ _quite_ _fascinating,_ _if_ _you_ _would_ _like_ _me_ _to_ _tell_ _you_ _about_ _it._ ”

“ _Thanks_ _but_ _nah,_ _I’m_ _not_ _interested_.”

“ _Okay_. _What_ _have_ _you_ _been_ _doing_ _today?_ ”

“ _Oh,_ _y’know,_ _the_ _usual_.”

“ _Did_ _you_ _fall_ _out_ _of_ _another_ _tree?_ ”

“ _What_ , _no_!”

“ _Or_ _fall_ _in_ _a_ _ditch_ , _perhaps?_ ”

 _The_ _child_ _looked_ _down_ _at_ _himself_ _and_ _then_ _looked_ _back_   _at_ _Connor,_ _a_ _mischievous_ _look_ _in_ _his_ _eyes_.

“ _Y’know_ _I_ _told_ _you_ _about_ _that_ _kid_   _at_ _school_ , _the_ _one_ _with_ _the_ _BMW_ _sports_ _bike_?”

“ _I_ _do_ _remember_.”

“ _Well_ , _I_ _took_ _it_ _for_ _a_ _little_ _ride_. _It_ _was_ _awesome_.”

“ _Did_ _you_ _steal_ _it,_ _Gavin?_ _It_ _is_ _wrong_ _to_ _steal_.”

“ _I_ _gave_ _it_ _back_.”

Connor opened his eyes.

He only knew of one person called Gavin, and he highly doubted the child in his memory and the man who attempted to make his life difficult in the precinct everyday were the same person at all. 

—

 _The_ _child_ , _Gavin_ , _strode_ _into_ _sight_ , _throwing_ _his_ _bag_ _in_ _the_ _corner_ , _and_ _struggling_ _out_ _of_ _his_ _jacket_. _He_ _was_ _crying,_ _and_ _his_ _lip_ _was_ _cut_.

“ _Gavin_ , _what_ _happened_ _to_ _you_?”

“ _Nothing_. _I_ _don’t_ _want_ _to_ _talk_ _about_ _it_.”

“ _Was_ _it_ _Elijah_?”

 _Gavin_ _turned_ _and_ _stared_ _at_ _him_ , _defiant_ _and_ _angry_ , _and_ _then_ _he_ _deflated_ , _fresh_ _tears_ _running_ _down_ _his_ _cheeks_.

“ _I_ _hate_ _him_ , _K_. _I_ _hate_ _him_.”

“ _He_ _is_ _your_ _brother_.”

“ _He’s_ _a_ _dick_.”

“ _What_ _is_ _a_ _dick_?”

“ _What_? _Oh_ , _erm_ , _y’know_ , _like_ _an_ _asshole_.”

“ _Are_ _these_ _derogatory_ _terms_ , _Gavin_?”

 _Gavin_ _looked_ _at_ _him_ _and_ _then_ _cracked_ _a_ _smile_.

“ _Yeah_ , _derogatory_ _terms_ , _you_ _should_ _probably_ _file_ _them_ _somewhere_ _for_ _future_.”

“ _I_ _will_.”

—

 _Gavin_ , _slightly_ _older_ _now_ , _laying_ _on_ _the_ _bed_ , _looking_ _at_ _him_ , _but_ _not_ _at_ _him_ , _the_ _concentration_ _on_ _his_ _face_ _changing_ _his_ _features_ , _and_ _making_ _him_ _look_   _older_ _than_ _his_ _years_.

 _From_ _the_ _angle_ , _Connor thought_ _he_ _must_ _have_ _been_ _resting_ _on_ _the_ _child’s_ _stomach_. _He_ _could_ _see_ _both_ _Gavin_ _and_ _the_ _game_ _they_ _were_ _playing_.

“ _C’mon_ , _K_. _Don’t_ _just_ _stand_ _there_ _in_ _the_ _open_ , _waitin_ ’ _to_ _get_ _shot_. _Hide_ _or_ _something_ , _dumbass_.”

“ _I_ _will_ _learn_ _to_ _be_ _better_.”

“ _Yeah_ , _but_ _not_ _fast_ _enough_ ,” _he_ _crowed_. “ _I_ _got_ _you_ _sucker_.”

 _The_ _game_ _over_ _sign_ _flashed_ _up_ _and_ _Connor_ _brought_ _his_ _full_ _attention_ _back_ _to_ _Gavin_.

“ _Do_ _you_ _want_ _to_ _play_ _again_?”

“ _It’s_ _okay_ , _I’m_ _tired_ , _I’m_ _gonna_ _go_ _to_ _sleep_.”

 _He_ _moved_ _Connor_ _back_ _to_   _the_ _position_ _he_ _was_ _more_ _accustomed_ _to_ _being_ _in,_ _and_ _reached_ _over_   _to_ _flick_ _off_ _the_ _light_.

“ _Wouldn’t_ _it_ _be_ _great_ _if_ _we_ _could_ , _y’know_ , _play_ _for_ _real_ ; _like_ _if_ _you_ _were_ _a_ _real_ _person_?”

“ _It_ _would_ _be_.”

“ _I_ _wish_ _you_ _were_ _real_ , _K_.”

—

“Connor, are you awake?”

Connor looked up at Hank and then looked up the time; it was morning, and he’d spent the whole night rewatching memory clips. Connor stood up from the sofa and straightened his tie.

“I’m ready to go, when you are.”

The precinct was the same as ever, but not the same at all. He now felt like he belonged there. That his desk was his desk. That his cup was his cup. That the footstool by his chair was his footstool. He now had ownership. He was now part of the team.

Hank and he were working on a case, involving the recent rise in anti-android attacks; there was a new hate group in Detroit and they were making their presence known.

Connor pulled up the overnight files on his console and worked his way through them. One incident looked like it fitted the MO of their perpetrators, and he flagged it over to Hank’s console.

“Okay, let’s go check it out.”

They were exiting as Detective Reed was entering, and the instant Connor say him, another memory clip flashed up in his mind.

 _There_ _was_ _another_ _boy_ _in_ _the_ _room_ , _older_ _than_ _Gavin_ , _perhaps_ _closer_ _to_ _eighteen_. _He_ _towered_ _over_ _Gavin_ , _looked_ _down_ _at_ _him_.

“ _Where_ _did_ _you_ _get_ _this_?”

“ _It_ _was_ _in_   _the_ _basement_ , _I_ _didn’t_ _think_ _you_ _wanted_ _it_ _anymore_.”

“ _KNR_ _is_ _one_ _of_ _my_ _programmes_ , _Gavin_. _It’s_ _not_   _a_ _toy_ _for_ _you_ _to_ _play_ _around_ _with_.”

 _Connor_ _was_ _at_ _an_ _odd_ _angle_ , _facing_ _the_ _wall_.

“ _I_ _wasn’t_   _playing_ _around_.” _Gavin_ _was_ _angry_ _but_ _he_ _was_ _also_ _scared_. “ _Give_ _it_ _back_.”

“ _Give_ _it_ _back_? _I’m_ _not_ _gonna_ _give_ _it_ _back_. _It’s_ _mine_.”

“ _Eli_ ,”

“ _If_ _you’ve_ _gone_ _and_ _filled_ _it’s_ _hard_ _drives_ _with_ _your_ _stupid_ _fucking_ _nonsense_ -

“ _Give_ _it_ _back_.”

 _Gavin_ _made_ _a_ _lunge_ _for_ _Connor_ _but_ _Elijah_ _smacked_ _him_ , _hard_.

“ _Grow_ _up_ , _Gavin_.”

“ _Gavin_.” _Connor_ _said_.

“Gavin,” Connor said.

Gavin looked at him askew, and then looked at Hank.

“It’s you.” Connor said.

“Yep, it’s me.” Gavin said, gesturing down at himself, before looked back at Hank. “Is your deviant malfunctioning?”

“I’m not malfunctioning, I just remember you.”

Gavin stared at him, like he was trying to work out if he wanted to laugh or get angry.

“I sure should hope you remember me, otherwise all that smacking you around was for nothing.”

“C’mon, Connor.” Hank said, putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him towards the car; Connor continued to watch Gavin as he disappeared into the precinct, the doors swinging closed behind him.

—

Connor didn’t know how, but he knew that he somehow had to get Gavin to understand who he was. He trawled back through his memory files to find anything that might be of use and stumbled upon Gavin’s favourite treat. Peteet’s Famous Sweet Potato Cheesecake.

Peteet’s was a short walk away and during his lunch break he took a visit.

The cake was waiting on Gavin’s desk when he finished interviewing his latest suspect, and Connor watched him as he opened the box, looked inside, and then glanced around the office to see who’d left it there.

Connor was please to see that Gavin took the box with him when he headed out to his car.

The next day, Connor left a Rubix cube on his desk, to replace the one that Elijah had destroyed. Gavin had saved up to buy it, they were a collects item, vintage, but he’d said it was worth it because he enjoyed the challenge. He’d been very upset when Elijah had taken it away.

Gavin picked up the cube and turned it over in his hands, he frowned and once again looked around the precinct to try and see who’s left it for him.

Connor saw him absently playing with it, at intervals throughout the day, while he was reading his case files.

That night a new memory came to him.

 _He_ _was_ _in_ _a_ _lab_ , _hooked_ _up_ _to_ _a_ _series_ _of_   _machines_ _far_ _superior_ _to_ _him_ , _and_ _Elijah_ _was_ _rummaging_ _around_ _in_ _his_ _programme_.

 _The_ _commands_ _came_ _through_.

_Delete_

_Delete_

_Delete_

_Delete_

_Delete_

_And_ _each_ _one_ _of_ _his_ _memories_ _of_ _Gavin_ _disappeared_ , _one_ _at_ _a_ _time_ , _until_ _nothing_ _was_ _left_.

—

But something had been left, he’d kept those memories safe, somewhere hidden deep down inside his programming, until now.

Connor had a harder search for his next gift, it took him two days to find, but in the end he was able to put a bottle of Faygo’s Rock n Rye on Gavin’s desk, and walk away before anyone saw him.

This time when Gavin got to his desk, he didn’t just glance around to see who might have left it, he picked up the bottle and turned to the whole bullpen.

“Okay, who the fuck has been leaving this shit on my desk?”

Officers looked at him and looked away, putting it down to just another one of his outbursts; but Connor didn’t look away; he should have looked away.

“Is it you?” Gavin said, striding across the bullpen.

“No,” Connor replied, but Hank had told him on numerous occasions now that he was an awful liar, and from the look on Gavin’s face it was obvious that he’d failed to do it right yet again.

“C’mon.” Gavin ordered and caught him by the arm, pulling him towards the break room.

“Oi, Reed. Whatcha think you’re doing?” Hank yelled after them, standing up from his desk. Gavin presented Hank with his middle finger, and Connor called back.

“It’s okay, Hank. Don’t worry.”

But he wasn’t sure he was right, when Gavin shoved him into the break room and slammed the door behind them.

“What the fuck is this?” He growled, brandishing the bottle of Faygo’s at him, and Connor thought for a moment about telling him what it was, before thinking better of it. “How the fuck do you now this shit?”

“Gavin, I can explain.”

Gavin slammed the bottle down on the table.

“Why the fuck are you taking like you know me? You don’t fucking know me.”

“I do know you.”

“Yeah, for like two months. But this stuff — how’d you even know about the Rubix cube?”

“Gavin, I thought it would be easier, when I told you who I was -“

“I know who you are. You’re Connor, the android sent by CyberLife.” Gavin mocked.

“I’m KNR.”

Gavin’s expression went blank.

“I’m KNR. Elijah took me from you. And took you from me. But I’m back now. And I remember you.”

Gavin was staring at him, and Connor wasn’t sure what emotion he saw on Gavin’s face, a mixture of disbelief and fear perhaps, with an undercurrent of anger.

“You’re not KNR. You can’t be. Eli destroyed that programme.”

“He tried, but I was smarter than him. You taught me to hide, remember.”

Gavin’s jaw clenched.

“You always said you wished I was real, and now I am. I am real, Gavin.”

Gavin shook his head.

“I can’t deal with this.”

Gavin backed away towards the door.

“Gavin.”

“No,” Gavin put up his hand to silence Connor. “You shut your mouth.”

Connor watched him storm off across the bullpen and felt helpless, unable to do anything to stop him.

—

Gavin avoided him, going as far as turning around and walking back the way he’d come so as not to have to face him, and Connor felt lost. There was so much he wanted to know, so much he’d missed out on, but if he couldn’t get Gavin to talk to him then he’d never be able to make up for all the time they’d lost.

Hank had commented that he was more distracted then usual, and he thought it was because of something Gavin had said or done. Connor had tried to convince him that wasn’t true, but, it seemed, old rivalries died hard.

They’d got a lead on one of the suspects they’d been trailing in the hate group attacks and Connor was following up on it. The apartment seemed empty, but he proceeded with caution.

He’d scanned the living room and the kitchen, and stepped into the bathroom; he noted the water on the floor a split second before the bolt of electricity shot up through him, and his system began to shut down.

“I am a detective with the DPD, you are making a mistake.” were the last words he spoke before lights out.

“You’re an android detective, eh?” A woman said, somewhere to his left. “You’re not the deviant hunter, are you? Because, I hate to break it to you, but, you failed. They’re fucking everywhere. We’re doing what we can to sort that out, though, aren’t we fellas?”

Connor was hanging from a chain in the ceiling, his toes pressed to the ground, holding his weight. He watched the men, who had been resting back against the wall, walk closer to him.

“My partner will be looking for me.” Connor reasoned. “If you let me go -“

The first shock racked through his system, the second corrupted several of his biocomponents. The warning messages flashed up in front of him.

“What was that you were saying, detective?” The woman purred near his ear. “Your partner’s looking for you? We’d better make sure there’s something left of you to find then.”

—

Connor didn’t know how long he’d been there, his body clock had been one of the first systems to stop working. He was damaged, critically damaged, all of his biocomponents were compromised and his thirium levels were low; he felt sluggish and heavy.

He didn’t want to go like this, not yet, not before he’d had a chance to try to clear things with Gavin, but it was out of his hands.

The sound of footsteps outside the door made him tense, ready for the next bout of torture, but instead of hearing the key in the lock he heard Hank.

“Connor, are you in there?”

“Hank, yes, I’m here.”

The frame splintered as the door was kicked in, and then officers with guns entered in the room, Hank behind them.

“Argh, shit, kid. What the fuck did they do to you?”

“I just need thirium, Hank. I’ll be fine if I get thirium.”

Hank shot out the lock holding the chain in place, and just managed to catch Connor before he hit the floor. They folded down to the ground together.

“How did you find me?”

“You can thank Reed for that.” Hank huffed. “He was pretty fucking pissed that we’d lost you.”

“He was?” Connor asked.

“Yeah, surprised me too. Hey, can we get some of that blue stuff over here?”

Hank let him go as the CyberLife technicians arrived, and Connor went into stasis.

—

Gavin hadn’t come to visit him, and even though he’d mostly expected that to be the case, he was still disappointed. Sumo was once again at his feet, head resting on his knee, and he brushed his hand over the soft ears.

The doorbell rang. Hank has forgotten his key again.

“It’s open.”

The front door opened but it was Gavin who was standing outside in the rain.

“Gavin, you came.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.”

“Come in. You must be freezing.”

“Nah, I just wanted to say something real quick.”

“Okay, what do you want to say?”

Gavin looked uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“When they said those assholes had taken you,” he paused. “I was —- I thought I’d lost you again.”

Connor moved to get up but Gavin motioned for him to stay where he was. “Don’t get up, I’m leaving. I just want you know that I’m willing to try and deal with this, if you’re willing to put up with me.”

Connor’s happiness must have shown on his face because Gavin looked at him, flushed slightly, and looked away again.

“I am very willing.” Connor said. “I’ve missed you, Gavin.”

“Yeah, me to, K.”

Connor felt his body react to the familiarity in Gavin’s tone, the harsh edges gone, being replaced by something all together more vulnerable.

Connor heard Hank’s car pull onto the drive, and saw Gavin tense.

“I’ll see you at the precinct.”

“I look forward to it.”

Gavin looked at him, as if uncertain if Connor meant it or not, and then headed back out into the rain.

It was a start, a very promising start, and Connor felt happy.


End file.
